Bring umbrellas, raincoats; the rainy season is here: BMG
Bring umbrellas, raincoats; the rainy season is here: BMG
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said on Monday that
the city was in a transitional period from the dry season to the
rainy season, reminding residents to carry umbrellas and
raincoats.
"Sporadic rain accompanied by strong winds, thunder and
lightning in the city are indicators that we are in the
transitional period from the dry season to the wet season," BMG
senior official Achmad Zakir told The Jakarta Post.
Short periods of heavy rain on Sunday and Monday in several
areas across the capital did not flood city streets but caused
chronic traffic jams at some locations.
Motorcyclists congregated under overpasses, bridges and bus
stops, taking up much of the road as they waited for the rain to
ease.
Bumper-to-bumper congestion was also seen at the Karet and
Landmark underpasses, both in Central Jakarta.
"I think it's time for residents to take umbrellas and
raincoats with them when they go out," Zakir said.
He said it would rain mostly in the morning and afternoon,
with the wet season peaking in early October in the southern part
of the city and in November in the northern part.
"We advise the public to unplug electronic appliances during
thunderous weather to prevent damage if electricity networks are
struck by lightning," he added.
Urban planning experts have also warned that trees planted in
the capital as part of an aggressive regreening policy since the
1980s are not fit for urban areas as many of them are not strong
enough to withstand violent storms during the rainy season.
Last year, storm Linda flooded streets and uprooted hundreds
of trees -- about 300 in South Jakarta alone -- causing massive
traffic jams throughout the city and disrupting the rail service
until late in the night.
The City Parks Agency earlier said that in South Jakarta about
5,000 trees, which were prone to falling in storms, were growing
along main thoroughfares. Among them are canary trees, banyan,
palms, khaya and poinciana trees.
The Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) said in 1997
that acacia, poinciana and angsana trees were not recommended for
the regreening campaign. Instead, the board suggested the city
administration plant mahogany, tanjung and timber trees.
Unfortunately, Governor Sutiyoso's administration, which
launched the Jakarta Ijo Royo-royo (Green Jakarta) program --
under which the City Park Agency will plant a total of 10 million
trees by 2010 -- failed to go with the board's suggestion.
The BMG previously said the dry season in Jakarta would start
in April and end in November.